A cyclist in her 20s suffered critical injuries to her chest, abdomen and legs after a large, refrigerated truck hit and trapped her on Tuesday morning at the intersection of Parkdale Avenue and Ruskin Street, just west of Ottawa’s downtown core, Ottawa paramedics say.
Local police and paramedics were called to the intersection, just a block away from the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus, around 8:30 a.m.
Marc-Antoine Deschamps, spokesperson for the Ottawa Paramedic Service, said the truck had to move so first responders could free the cyclist.
Staff from the Ottawa Hospital provided medical help on scene and the injured woman was conscious when she was taken to the hospital’s trauma centre, Deschamps said.
Both the cyclist and the truck were travelling northbound on Parkdale, the Ottawa Police Service’s collision investigation unit said later on Tuesday.
“The truck turned right and a collision occurred,” a statement attributed to Det. Alain Boucher said.
Police continue to investigate, according to a spokesperson.
Officers had closed sections of Parkdale and Ruskin to traffic after the collision, but reopened the roads later on Tuesday morning.